Feed mechanism for rotatable drum agitating apparatus



June 13, 1950 H LK I 2,511,262

FEED MECHANISM FOR ROTATABLE'DRUM AGITATING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 5, 19485 Sheets-Sheet 1 LOUIS G. HILKEMEIER JNVENTOR.

June 13, 1950 L. G. HILKEMEIER 2,511,262

FEED MECHANISM FOR ROTATABLE DRUM AGITATING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 5, 19483 Sheets-Sheet 2 ll 1/ F1g..'5'.

I t 9 3 23 ,1 /,z 29 I x LOUIS G. HILKEMEIER JNVENTOR.

BY ATTORN June 13, 1950 G. HILKEMEIER 2,511,262

FEED MECHANISM FOR ROTATABLE DRUM AGITATING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 5, 1948s Sheets-Sheet s LOUIS 6. HILKEMEIER INVENTOR.

ATTORN Patented June 13, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Chain BeltCompany, Milwaukee,

ration of Wisconsin Wis., a corpo Application August'5, 1948, Serial No.42,686

12 Claims The invention relates to agitating apparatus of the rotatabledrum type, of which a concrete mixer may be cited as a typical example,and it has for its principal object the provision of improved mechanismfor efiecting introduction of materials into a rotatable drum, one endof which is provided with a charging opening concentric with the axis ofrotation. Ihe said mechanism also permits of the materials beingsubsequently discharged from the drum through said opening, as willappear more fully below.-

In many well known examples of concrete mixer of the rotatable drum typethe drum is mounted for rotation about a horizontal axis.- In otherforms however, and more especially where the mixing unit is mounted onamotor vehicle chassis for rapid highway movement, the drum is mountedfor rotation about an axis inclined to the horizontal, whereby to securea higher point of discharge. While the present mechanism may be employedwith machines of either of these types, in the accompanying drawingsforming a part of this specification ithas been illustrated inconjunction with an inclined-axis truck mounted mixer. g

In the said drawings, in which like reference characters designate likeparts in an the views:

Figure l is a side elevational view, partly broken away, or a well knowncommercial example of inclined axis concrete mixer, e ui ped with oneform of charging and discharging mechanism constructed and arranged inaccordance with the invention; v I

Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevational view, partl broken away and insection, of the rear portion of the mixer and the charging apparatusshown in Fig:- 1;

Fig.- 3 is a top plan view of the parts shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragment r cross sectional view, on approximately the planeindicated by the line 4 4 of Fig. 2, looking in the direction of thearrows;

Fig, 5 is an enlarged detail sectional v'iew, on approximately the planeindicated by the line 5-4 of Fig. 2 and s Fig. 6 is an enlarged detailsectional view of the rotary joint between the fixed hopper and therotatable flexible eonduitof the char ing apparatus.

- The concrete mixer shown in Fig; i is a unitwhich may be mounted u ona motor truck chassis (not shown) and comprises'a framework H in which arrusto' conioaljmixing drum I2 is" journalled for rotation about anaxis" which in-' clines upwardly from left to right, as viewed in saidfigure, at an angle of about 15 to the horizontal. The smaller higherend of the drum at the rear of the machine is headless and is providedwith a drip-ring structure l3 defining a transfer opening l6 throughwhich the concretemaking materials may be charged into the drum and themixed concrete subsequently discharged therefrom by means of spirallyarranged blades within the drum, as is well known in the art.

The present mechanism for feeding materials into the drum andcontrolling the discharge of the mixture therefrom, comprises anopentopped, frusto-conical hopper I5 having a bottom discharge port l6,which hopper is fixedly mounted in rearwardly spaced relation to thedrum l2 by brackets I1 secured to rearward extensions I of the tophorizontal frame members I I. As here shown in Figs. 1 and 2, thedischarge port it of the hopper is disposed in a plane which makes anangle of approximately 30 with the horizontal, so that the said port isangularly displaced from the drum opening I4 by about 45, and is spacedrearwardly and upwardly therefrom.

The hopper i5 is provided with an outwardly extending flange l8surrounding the discharge port I6, which flange has an annular groove l9in its under face in which is seated a bearing ring 20, which is held inplace by a retaining ring 2! secured to the flange by bolts 22. Thebearing ring 28 is rigidly carried by the outwardly flanged end of aflexible tubular, conduit 23. As here shown, this conduit comprises arubber or similar resilient tube, the wall of which is formed with aplurality of circumferential accordion pleats 24, whereby the conduitmay be longitudinally extended and contracted, as will be readilyunderstood, and may assume an arcuate form between the hopper port [5and the drum opening 14, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The conduit may beand preferably is provided with circumferential metallic reinforcingrings 25 (Fig. 5) embedded in the walls to preserve the cross sectionalcontour.

The joint provided by the hopper flange l8, bearing ring 20 andretaining ring 2| rotatably connects the rearward end of conduit 23 tothe hopper in register with the hopper port l6, so that materialsintroduced into the hopper may flow through the said port into andthrough the conduit; and the other end of the latter is provided withmeans engageable with the drip ring 13 surrounding the drum transferopening M, whereby rotation of the drum may be transmitted 3 to theconduit to turn it relative to the hopper.

As best shown in Figs. 2 and 5, the forward end of the conduit wall isflanged outwardly and has rigidly secured to it a shifting ring 26 and adriving ring 2?, the latter being here shown as comprising a shortfrusto-conical annulus, the larger end of 'which is provided with anoutwardly extending flange 21 which is adapted to be pressed against thedrip-ring [3, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. The driving annulus 21 and theforward end of the conduit 23 are supported in co-axial relation to thedrum by a pair of arms 28 depending from a rock-shaft 29 journalled inbearings 39 carried by the top horizontal frame members II, the lowerends of said arms being connected by trunnions 30 to a circular collarstructure 3| of substantially U-shaped cross section, which surroundsand journals the bearing ring 26 carried by the forward end of theconduit. The rock-shaft 29 may be shifted back and forth in any suitablemanner, as for example by means of a rigidl carried arm 32 connected bya link 33 to a manually operable worm gear mechanism diagrammaticallyindicated at 34, which may be of the type disclosed in prior U. S.Patent No, 2,265,751 granted December 9, 1941, on an application filedby Charles F. Ball.

With the conduit 23 extending in an arc between the hopper port 16 andthe drum end, and with the collar structure 3! pivotally connected tothe supporting arms 28 by the trunnions 38, the expansive tendency ofthe more collapsed upper segment of the conduit will tend to prevent thedisengagement of the upper sector of the flange 21' of driving ring 21from the dripring I 3 when the rock-shaft 29 is moved counterclockwiseto contract the conduit for discharge purposes. To insure completecircumferential disengagement of the driving ring flange 21' from thedripring, a finger 35 is rigidly secured to the mid portion ofrock-shaft 29, for engagement with an ear 36 carried by the upper sectorof the collar 3|, whereby when the said shaft is moved to causecontraction of the conduit to enable discharge of concrete from the drumopening l4, the engagement of the said finger with the ear will preventpivotal movement of the collar 3| about trunnions 3i! and cause thedriving annulus 21 to be fully disengaged from the drip-ring.

When the parts are in the positions shown in full lines in Fig. 2, withthe flange 27 of driving ring 27 in pressural engagement with thedrip-ring l3 of drum 12, the flexible conduit 23 and driving ring 21'will conduct any materials introduced into hopper I to the opening M',and thus into the drum. Since the latter is usually rotated in themixing direction during charging, the engagement between the drip-ringl3 and drive ring 21 will impart rotation to the conduit relative to thefixed hopper, and while the accordion pleats in the conduit wall arecircumferential rather than helical, nevertheless their expansion andcontraction as a result of such rotation will materially hasten thetransfer of the materials, and will also tend to prevent the adherencethereof to the surface of the conduit wall.

In operating mixers of this type it is customary to rotate the drum inone direction for mixing and in the opposite direction for discharge, inwhich latter case the helical mixing blades in the drum work the mixedconcrete rearwardly toward and through the transfer opening l4. When itis desired to discharge concrete from a drum equipped with the presentcharging mechanism, if the Worm gear mechanism 3-1 be actuated to moveshaft 29 counterclockwise, the arms 28 carried thereby, acting throughtrunnions 30, collar 3| and bearing ring 28, will withdraw the drivering 21 from engagement with drip-ring I3, collapsing the pleats ofconduit 23 and moving the parts to the positions indicated in brokenlines in Fig. 2. Thus, concrete moved rearwardly in the drum to openingl4 may be discharged through the space between the drip-ring l3 and thenow separated conduit drive ring 27.

It will be noted that the hopper I5 is so constructed and positioned onthe frame II that its discharge port [6 is at all times substantiallyabove the plane to which concrete will rise if the drum be rotated indischarge direction while the feed conduit 23 is extended and its drivering 21 engaged with the driundrip-ring l3. Since the only joint betweenrotating and non-rotating members of the present mechanism is in theplane of the hopper port, concrete finding its way into the conduitunder the above mentioned conditions will not reach the said joint, andtherefore it is unnecessary to provide it with any special sealconstruction, as has been heretofore necessary in apparatus of thisgeneral character. The present mechanism therefore is especiallysuitable for use in the uni-directional mode of operating these inclinedaxis mixers described in the prior Ball Patent No. 2,303,902; and itlikewise may be advantageously employed with horizintal-axis mixers'Where it is usual to charge the drum to or above the axis of rotation.

While for purposes of disclosure one form of the invention has beenillustrated and described, itwill be obvious that those skilled in theart may vary the details of construction as well as the precisearrangement of parts without departing from the spirit of the invention,and therefore it is not wished to be limited to the above disclosureexcept as may be required by the appended claims.

What is claimed is: r

1. In agitating apparatus, the combination of a rotatable drum, one endof which is provided with a material-transfer opening; a feed hopperhaving a discharge port; means fixedly mounting the hopper with saidport in spaced relation to the drum opening; a longitudinally extensibleand contractible tubular conduit having one of its ends rotatablyengaging the hopper in register with the hopper port, and its other enddrivably engaging said drum end in register with its opening, wherebythe drum may rotate the conduit relative to the hopper; and meansconnected to the conduit for extending and contracting the same, wherebyto move its last named end into and out of engagement with the drum end.

2. In agitating apparatus, the combination of a rotatable drum, one endof which is provided with a material-transfer opening; a feed hopperhaving a discharge port; means fixedly mounting the hopper with saidport in spaced relation to the drum opening; a tubular conduit havingaccordion-pleated longitudinally extensible and contractible walls,disposed between the hopper and drum; means rotatably connecting one endof said conduit to the hopper in register with its port; a driving ringcarried by the other end of the conduit concentric with the drumopening; and reciprocable meansconnected to the conduit for extendingand contracting the same to move "said rin into and'out offrictionalengage ment with the drum end, whereby the drum may rotate theconduit relative to the hopper during said engagement, and material maybe discharged from the drum through the opening during disengagement.

3. In agitating apparatus, the combination of a rotatable drum, one endof which is provided with a material-transfer opening; a feed hopperhaving a discharge port; means mounting the hopper with said port infixedly spaced relation to the drum opening; a tubular conduit havingresilient longitudinally extensible and contractible walls, disposedbetween the hopper and drum for conducting material from said port tosaid opening; means rotatably supporting one end of the conduit on thehopper in register with said port; a journal member rotatably mountingthe other end of the conduit adjacent the drum opening; and supportingmeans for said journal member mounting it for reciprocation toward andfrom said opening, whereby to move said last named end of the conduitinto and out of driving engagement with the drum end.

4. In agitating apparatus, the combination of a rotatable rum, one endof which is provided with a material-transier opening; a feed hopperhaving a discharge port; means fixedly mounting the hopper with saidport in spaced relation to the drum opening; a tubular conduit havingaccordion-pleated longitudinally extensible and contractible walls,disposed between the hopper and drum for conducting material from saidport to said opening; means rotatably securing one end of the conduit tothe hopper in register with its port; a driving ring rigidly secured tothe other end of the conduit; a journal member rotatably mounting saidring and other end of the conduit adjacent the drum opening; and movablearms supporting said journal member for movements axially oi the drum,whereby to extend and contract the conduit and to shift said drivingring into and out of frictional engagement with the drum end.

5. In agitating apparatus, the combination of a rotatable drum, one endof which is provided with a material-transfer opening; a feed hopperhaving a discharge port; means fixedly mounting the hopper with saidport in spaced angular relation to said drum opening; a tubular conduithaving longitudinally flexible walls, disposed between the hopper anddrum with one end rotatably engaging the hopper in register with itsport; and means drivably connecting the other end of the conduit to thedrum in register with its opening, whereby the drum may rotate theconduit relative to the hopper.

6. In agitatin apparatus, the combination of a rotatable drum, one endof which is provided with a material-transfer opening; a feed hopperhaving a discharge port; means fixedly mounting the hopper with saidport in spaced angular relation to said drum opening; a tubular conduithaving accordion-pleated longitudinally extensible and contractiblewalls, extending in an are between said hopper port and drum opening;means rotatably connecting the outer end of said conduit to the hopperin register with its port; and extending and contracting means connectedto the inner end portion of the conduit for moving such end into and outof openingregistering engagement with the drum end.

7. In agitating apparatus, the combination of a rotatable drum, one endof which is provided with a material-transfer opening; a feed hopperhaving a discharge port; means fixedly mounting-the hopper with saidport in spaced angular relation to and substantially above said drumopening; a, flexible tubular conduit having longitudinally extensibleand contractible walls, extending arcuately between said hopper port anddrum opening; means providing a rotational joint between the hopper andthe complemental end of said conduit; a drive ring rigidly carried bythe other end of the conduit; and means journailing said other end ofthe conduit in concentric relation to said drum opening, with said ringin driving engagement with the drum end.

8. In agitating apparatus, the combination of a rotatable drum, one endof which is provided with a material-transfer opening; a feed hopperhaving a discharge port; means fixedly mounting the hopper with saidport in spaced angular relation to and substantially above said drumopening; a tubular conduit having accordionpleated longitudinallyextensible and contractible walls, extending arcuately between saidhopper port and drum opening; means providing a rotational joint betweenthe hopper and the complemental end of the conduit; a drive ring rigidlycarried by the other end of the conduit; a member journalling said otherend of the conduit in concentric relation to the drum opening; and meansmounting said journal member for movement axially of the drum, wherebythe conduit may be extended and contracted and said drive ring movedinto and out of driving engagement with the drum end.

9. In agitating apparatus, the combination of a rotatable drum, one endof which is provided with a material-transfer opening; a feed hopperhaving a discharge port and a flange extending around said port; meansfixedly mounting the hopper with said port and flange in spaced angularrelation to and substantially above said drum opening; .a tubularconduit having resilient accordion-pleated walls, extending arcuatelybetween said hopper port and drum opening; a bearing ring carried by theouter end of the conduit and seating against said hopper flange toprovide a rotary joint between the conduit and hopper; a drive ringrigidly carried by the inner end of the conduit; a collar rotatablymounting said inner end of the conduit in concentric relation to thedrum opening; and oscillatory arms supporting said collar for movementsaxially of the drum, whereby the conduit may be longitudinally extendedand contracted and said drive ring moved into and out of drivingengagement with the drum end.

10. Feeding apparatus for charging material into a rotatable drum havinga charging opening in one of its ends, said apparatus comprising ahopper having a discharge port disposable in fixed spaced relation tothe drum opening; a flexible tubular conduit having longitudinallyextensible and contractible walls; rotatable joint connections betweenone end of the conduit and the hopper maintaining said end in registerwith said hopper port; and means connected to the conduit for extendingand contracting the same, whereby to move its other end into and odt ofopening-registering engagement with the drum.

11. Feeding apparatus for charging material into a rotatable drum havingan end charging opening concentric with its axis of rotation, saidapparatus comprising a hopper having a discharge port disposable infixed spaced angular relation to the drum opening; a resilient tubularconduit having circumferentially accordionpleated walls; a rotatablejoint connecting one end of the conduit to the hopper in register withsaid port; and means connected to the conduit for longitudinallyextending and contracting the same, whereby its other end may be movedinto and out of opening-registering engagement with the drum and theconduit rotated by the drum during passage of material through theconduit.

12. In agitating apparatus, the combination of a rotatable drum, one endof which is provided with a material-transfer opening; a feed hopperhaving a discharge port; means fixedly mounting the hopper with saidport in spaced angular relation to said drum opening; a tubular conduithaving accordion-pleated longitudinally extensible and contractiblewalls, extending arcuately between said hopper port and drum opening;means providing a rotary joint between the hopper and the complementalend of the conduit; a drive ring rigidly carried by the other end of theconduit; a collar rotatably mounting the last mentioned end of theconduit in concentric relation to the drum opening; osoillatably mountedarms pivotally connected to and supporting said collar for movementsaxially of the drum; means 8 for oscillating said arms to longitudinallyextend and contract the conduit, whereby to move said drive ring intoand out of driving engagement with the drum end; and a member movablewith said arms and engageable with the collar during conduit-contractingmovements thereof to limit swinging of the collar on the arm pivots,whereby to insure complete disengagement of the drive ring from the drumend.

LOUIS G. HILKEMEIER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 716,087 Nicolay Dec. 16, 1902968,275 Smith Aug. 23, 1910 1,692,374 Jaeger Nov. 20, 1928 1,827,713Eggert Oct. 13, 1931 1,898,416 Wiseman Feb. 21, 1933 2,202,652 GliddenMay 28, 1940 2,264,039 Hoyd Nov. 25, 1941

